“Isolating inmates from their loved ones tears the fabric of families and communities.”

SPRINGFIELD – Families will be able to speak with inmates of the Illinois prison system via video call under a new law sponsored by State Sen. Jacqueline Collins in the Illinois Senate. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed that legislation today.

“As technology improves, we can find ways of lessening the burden of incarceration on families. This allows the Illinois Department of Corrections to facilitate humane visitation rights for inmates while giving families a way of avoiding travel costs,” Collins said.

“The people Illinois incarcerates are sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. Giving them the opportunity to maintain and cultivate these vital human relationships while they are in prison will result in stronger family ties and a safer society upon their release. I’m hopeful that measures like these take a small step toward relieving that burden and breaking the cycle of incarceration.”

Biography: Full-time state legislator. Born December 10th in McComb, Mississippi. Studied journalism at Northwestern University; MA from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government; MA in Human Services Administration from Spertus College; MA in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, June 2003. Former Emmy Award-nominated news editor at CBS-TV in Chicago, and 2001 Legislative Fellow with United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.